Blog – Page 105 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Pectoral & Savannah

Back out to Boundary Bay for my walk this afternoon. Tides were not ideal, but you never know what you may find. There was nothing going on at the pilings so I carried on to the mansion. It was quiet there as well on my arrival.

Then some Pectoral Sandpipers started to arrive. There was around 50 and I scanned them all closely hoping to find a Sharp-tailed, but no such luck.

Today’s activity shots for the Pectoral Sandpipers,

… was bath time. Several took to splashing about in the water.

Then they settled in along the waters edge. There were a few peeps mixed in with them along with a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs, but nothing out of the ordinary made an appearance. On my way back I stopped at the pilings for a while. Not a single shore bird showed up while I was there. During my recent visits to this area I had noticed some other regular visitors to the pilings.

A flock of Savannah Sparrows routinely show up and spend time here.

So I took a little time to try a get a couple of shots of them before calling it a day.

Phalarope & Pectoral

It was back to Boundary Bay this afternoon to continue trying for some of the rarities that have been seen of late. The tide was way out as I started west from 104 St. and not a single shore bird in close by the time I reached the pilings. Usually there is something lurking in there at this time of year. As I continued west there was lone shore bird moving about in a shallow tidal pool.

All on its own was this Red-necked Phalarope.

The Red-necked Phalarope seemed quite content scurrying around foraging for food. On reaching the area in front of the mansion the Ruff was present with the Yellowlegs, so there was hope for a better shot of it. At least until a Peregrine Falcon came in scattering everything. When the Yellowlegs returned the Ruff was no longer amongst them.

There were more Pectoral Sandpiper here today.

More often than not, they are quite willing to cooperate,

… and are not adverse to striking nice poses for you.

This one provided the action shot catching quite a large worm. Of course while watching the Pectoral Sandpiper I was hoping the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper seen the other day might make an appearance. No such luck, but there is always next time.

Red-necked Phalarope

There were decent crowds while volunteering at Reifel this afternoon in spite of it being the last major long weekend of the summer. Birding wise though, it was relatively quiet. One bird, however, did delight many visitors. A Red-necked Phalarope spent most of the day in one of the centre display ponds.

While these shore birds are routinely seen in the outer ponds at this time of year, it is not often they are seen here. This provided a unique opportunity for a lot of visitors to see this little beauty up close while it swam and foraged at the edge of the pond next to the path.